a Ride to Benefit
 

November 13, 2010
 

Far and away, the very best routes in Southern California's most scenic and most popular cycling region!
NO crowds! Great support! T-Shirt, goodie bag and post-ride buffet lunch included!

SPECIAL REGISTRATION POLICY: Because this is a benefit ride, rollover ride credits from other events and/or volunteer ride credits may not be used; and there will be no rollover ride credits given for cancellations.

  Registration for the 2010 event will open in April 2010.

General Information and Ride Rules - Please Read!

Solvang's Finest Century (and Finest Metric Century) is dedicated to raising money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
The challenge of riding a century, or participating in any endurance sport, is a lot of fun; but people with disabilities sometimes don’t have access to the special equipment and training it takes for them to pursue this type of lifestyle. Through the Challenged Athletes Foundation, you can provide funding for hand cycles, sports chairs, training and competition needs that will allow athletes with disabilities the freedom to enjoy a fit lifestyle. Since 1994, CAF has raised over $16 million and provided funds to over 3,300 athletes across the United States and around the world.

There are three easy things that you can do to help: First, simply register for this event! A portion of your entry fee goes directly to the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Second, send in a tax-deductible donation with your entry. Third, purchase a jersey at the event; proceeds will be donated to CAF. Finally, if you want to do more (and we hope you do), we'll help get you started with your own fundraising! We’ll show you how to get dialed into the Challenged Athletes Foundation Race For A Reason program and set up a fundraising web page to track your progress. The Challenged Athletes Foundation will provide you with postcards, newsletters, videos – all the tools you need to make your fundraising a success. You’ll also receive some great incentive prizes from CAF when you reach your fundraising goal. Just think, you can challenge yourself on this beautiful Solvang ride and also help someone else overcome their challenge as well. It's a win win situation!!!

Fundraising Incentive Prizes: When you join the Race For a Reason program, the more you raise, the more incentive prize choices you'll have. The 2008 Race For A Reason fundraising incentive prize list was awesome! We imagine the 2009 list will be just as great! For example, raise just $250 and win a CAF Polar Fleece Jacket. The more you raise, the more choices you have: Polar Heart Rate Monitors, Rudy Project Heritage Sunglasses, Specialized Pro Carbon Road Shoes, Apple iPod, HED Alps or Stinger Race Wheels, Star Trac Spinner Pro Bike, Specialized Allez Comp Road Bike, Kuota Kalibur Dura Ace Bike, and more! In addition, the highest fundraiser who raises more than $7,500 will also win a 2009 pass to all Planet Ultra single day events. Click here to learn about, and register for the Challenged Athlete's Foundation Race for A Reason Program.

Early Entry Fee of $90 includes: Event t-shirt (guaranteed only for riders who register before November 1st), goodie bag, a delicious post-ride meal*, route sheet, four fully stocked checkpoints along the course, and plenty of roving SAG. A portion of every basic entry fee goes directly to the Challenged Athletes Foundation.  (*Additional meals may be purchased at the time of registration for $20 per person.)

Interested in sponsoring this event? Click here to contact us!

Start/Finish Host Hotel
•  Our host hotel is the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott located at 555 McMurray Road in Buellton, 800-638-8882. The Marriott is offering a Planet Ultra rate of $179. To get this rate, please let them know you're with Planet Ultra.  Our overflow hotel in Buellton is the Quality Inn located at 630 Avenue of the Flags, 805-688-0022. The special Planet Ultra/Solvang Double Century rate is $109 per night for 2 Queens or one King. You must tell them you're with Planet Ultra to get the special deal. If you prefer to be in Solvang, please stay at the Royal Copenhagen Inn, 1579 Mission Dr.; 805-688-5561. It's right in the middle of town - and a good bargain at $110 per night. We used to host all of our Solvang events at the Royal Copenhagen Inn, and we really like it; but we've out grown the meeting room space, so we simply had to move. Be sure to mention "Planet Ultra" when making your reservations at either hotel, to ensure that you receive our group rate.

Check-In
All riders must check in Friday evening from 6:30pm to 9:00pm or Saturday morning between 6:00am and 8:00am in the designated meeting room at the Marriott.

Solvang Open Start System
As usual, we will have an open starting window from 7:00am to 8am for Century riders. If you plan on finishing the century in under 6 hours, please start closer to 8am. The start time for the metric century is 8:30am. Please no earlier starts, or you'll get to the checkpoints before they're open. We'll have a staging area in the parking lot where riders will gather to be sent off. Come with your friends that you want to ride with, and hit the road together. We greatly appreciate your cooperation in making this run smoothly. 

Time Limit
Regardless of start time, the course closes at 4:30pm. No exceptions. If you're not sure if you can complete a moderately difficult century in under ten hours, we recommend the metric century option. The metric covers much of the same route as the century (minus the first 35 miles) - and is a nice challenge with lots of climbing. Please note: Riders must reach Checkpoint 2 at mile 57.9 by 12:30pm. All riders who miss this cut-off are required to take an alternate, shorter route back to the finish.

Twilight
Twilight begins at 6:05; Twilight ends at 17:24. Sunrise is at 6:32; Sunset is at 16:58.

Support Provided
We will have checkpoints along the way to provide you with a wide variety of food choices including bananas, PB&J sandwiches, granola/fruit/energy bars, Hammer Gel, Sustained Energy, Heed, and Endurolytes, plus other wholesome edibles. A buffet lunch will be served at the finish line in Buellton from approximately 1:30pm to 5:30pm.

Route Description - NOTE: Route sheets will be available to registered riders if so requested via email between two weeks and four days before the event. However, we cannot guarantee that the route sheet will be 100% accurate. Though not anticipated, last-minute routing changes may be required.
The event starts and finishes just down the road from its namesake, Solvang, a quaint, Danish village with excellent restaurants, window shopping, real shopping, horse-drawn carriages, parks, people in costume, wine-tasting, vineyards, and lots of fun things for the whole family to see and do. Bring your family and make a weekend of it. We promise they'll all have a great time while you ride your bike!

Century Route: We've put together a wonderful and unique century route, unlike any other organized ride in the area. Riders will experience the very best of the Santa Ynez valley and then head out to points beyond. This figure eight style course starts with a tour of Solvang, Los Olivos, Ballard and Santa Ynez, and then heads up the well-known Foxen Canyon. The route then loops back around towards Solvang via Zaca Station, Hwy 154 and beautiful Ballard Canyon. Then riders head South towards Buellton and veer off on the famous Avenue of the Flags which becomes Santa Rosa Road. Taking the back roads of Lompoc, riders will head up and over Harris Grade and drop back down to Hwy 135 towards the great little western antique haven of Los Alamos. From Los Alamos, riders encounter the last big climb of the day, up and over Drum Canyon, a quiet, twisty, 800 foot, 3.4 mile ascent. Drum Canyon has a steep, technical downhill, so please pay close attention to your speed. Once you reach the bottom, you'll hop onto Hwy 246 back to Buellton, with a big shoulder all the way to town! 100 miles with 4,900 feet of climbing. Four SAG stops along the course.

Metric century ride: Riders will cover the last 60 miles of the fantastic century route. Leaving Buellton, riders veer off on the famous Avenue of the Flags which becomes Santa Rosa Road, and the first climbs of the day. After a blast down Hwy 1, riders take the back roads of Lompoc, heading up and over Harris Grade and dropping back down to Hwy 135 towards the great little western antique haven of Los Alamos. From Los Alamos, riders encounter the last big climb of the day, up and over Drum Canyon, a quiet, twisty, 800 foot, 3.4 mile ascent. Drum Canyon has a steep, technical downhill, so please pay close attention to your speed. Once you reach the bottom, you'll hop onto Hwy 246 back to Buellton, with a big shoulder all the way to town! 62 miles with 3,100 feet of climbing. Three SAG stops along the course.

Towns/regions visited: Solvang, Ballard, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, Foxen Canyon, Buellton, Lompoc, Los Alamos, and back to Buellton.

Coffee
The very best coffee, chai and hot chocolate in town is at the Bulldog Cafe, 1680 Mission Drive - just a few miles up the road in Solvang. Their pastries and brownies are amazing too! They open at 6:00am. Wireless internet also available.

Parking
If you are staying at a hotel in Buellton or Solvang, other than the Marriott, please park there and leave your car there during the event. If you are driving into Buellton on Saturday morning for the event, please be very careful how and where you park. Also, allow more than enough time to find proper parking. Do not park at the Marriott, or any other hotel, unless you are staying there.

Directions
Use Hwy 101 to get to Buellton from either north or south. Take the Hwy 246/Solvang exit towards Solvang, and make a left onto McMurray Rd. The Marriott is on the left.

Click here for the Carpool and Room Share blog

Volunteers
We always need help at our events! We can only put these events on with the help of loyal, trustworthy, motivated individuals running the checkpoints along the way. To provide a little incentive, we offer one free entry into any Planet Ultra event in the following twelve months for each time you volunteer at a Planet Ultra event. It's a simple formula: "work one, ride one free!" So please contact us to let us know when and where you'd like to help. (Please note that riders are specifically encouraged to work an event. Friends and family of riders are encouraged to lend a hand, too, but don't count towards the "work one, ride one free!" formula.)

Sunday Staff Ride
Everyone who volunteers to work the main event may ride the Century Staff Ride on Sunday, November 14th for FREE. The Staff Ride will likely be unsupported - but there are plenty of places to refuel and re-hydrate along the route.

Local Weather
Click here for the weather in and around Solvang.